The General Services Administration’s chief of staff, Danielle Germain, has resigned her post effective today, Federal News Radio reports. Germain told the radio station: We all know that they have been in a period of transition for the last two years and considering the length of time it is taking to get a permanent Administrator, I have decided to take advantage of another opportunity. So apparently the hold Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., has placed on Martha Johnson’s confirmation to lead GSA has claimed a bystander and opened another void in GSA leadership. In the last two weeks, the agency got…
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A gunman killed a federal security officer and wounded a deputy U.S. marshal when he opened fire at a federal courthouse in Las Vegas this morning. Law enforcement officers then shot and killed the gunman. The U.S. Marshals Service said he appears to have acted alone. The wounded marshal was hospitalized.
The General Services Administration just released the 2010 mileage reimbursement rates for federal employees using private vehicles: Automobiles (if no government vehicle is available): $0.50 per mile Motorcycles: $0.47 per mile Airplanes: $1.29 per mile If a government-owned car is available, but an employee chooses to drive his own car instead, the mileage reimbursement rate drops considerably to $0.285 per mile. If an employee agrees to use a federal car but later backs out, the rate drops even further to $0.125 per mile. Those rates went into effect Jan. 1. But there’s no word yet on what kind of mileage reimbursement rate DARPA’s…
What do “The Jetsons” and “The Transformers” have in common? DARPA! USA Today reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for ideas to develop a flying car, not unlike those seen on the 1960s cartoon show, the Jetsons. The project, dubbed “Transformer (TX),” which USA Today muses is reminiscent of the 1980s cartoon where robots morphed into vehicles and saved the day, will: Demonstrate a 1 to 4 person transportation vehicle that can drive and fly, thus enabling the warfighter to avoid water, difficult terrain, and road obstructions as well as IED and ambush threats. The vehicle…
President Obama just issued the following statement regarding yesterday’s suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan’s Khost Province that killed seven CIA officers and at least one other person: To the men and women of the CIA: I write to mark a sad occasion in the history of the CIA and our country. Yesterday, seven Americans in Afghanistan gave their lives in service to their country. Michelle and I have their families, friends and colleagues in our thoughts and prayers. These brave Americans were part of a long line of patriots who have made great sacrifices for their fellow citizens, and for…
If you’re a federal employee, you can no longer text while driving on company time. President Obama issued an Oct. 1 executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving for work, and that order took effect Wednesday. The order bans feds from using government-supplied electronics while driving, as well as texting while driving government-owned vehicles or while driving privately-owned vehicles on official government business. Federal contracts are encouraged to adopt their own policies banning texting behind the wheel. More than 4 million federal employees will be banned from texting on company time, according to a Transportation Department news release.…
The Transportation Security Administration has served subpoenas to two travel bloggers who posted a Christmas Day airport security directive after the attempted downing of a U.S.-bound plane. TSA special agents served the subpoenas to Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, demanding to know by today who leaked the security directive to them. The directive was not intended to be released to the public, TSA officials said. The security directive, effective Dec. 25 to Dec. 30, outlined checkpoint and on board security measures, including pat downs of all passengers at boarding gates and no bathroom visits on board planes within an hour…
A suicide bomber killed eight Americans yesterday at a CIA base in Eastern Afghanistan. The Washington Post reports that most — if not all — of the victims were CIA employees or contractors. At least one Afghan also was killed, the Post said. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack in Khost, near the Pakistan border. The Post said the bombing is “believed to be the deadliest single attack on U.S. intelligence personnel in the eight-year-long war and one of the deadliest in the agency’s history.” In 1983, eight CIA officers were killed in a devastating truck bombing of…
The Office of Personnel Management announced an unscheduled leave policy is in effect today for non-emergency federal employees in the Washington, DC, area. Federal offices are open, but employees can take the day off by notifying their supervisors, OPM said. Emergency employees must report to work on time. With the potential for icy rain and snow showers today in the Washington region, and a slow day expected before the New Year’s holiday, OPM officials decided to play it safe and keep some employees off the roads. Federal offices nationwide will be closed tomorrow in observance of New Year’s Day.
Federal employees already know they’re getting a 2 percent overall pay increase for 2010, but the actual raise each employee receives varies widely depending on where they work. To help employees determine their 2010 salaries, the Office of Personnel Management has posted updated pay charts for employees in the General Schedule, Senior Executive Service and other pay systems. We here at Fedline are glad to pass them along, but you know the saying: Don’t kill the messenger.